A blog dealing with either the joy of cinema or the agony of cinema--nothing in between.

Friday, April 27, 2012

26 Years: The Dewey Bozella Story

In 1977, Dewey Bozella was convicted for a brutal murder of an elderly New York woman which was overturned no less than 26 years later, the duration of which was spent at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. With his newfound freedom, Bozella sought to become the oldest person to attain a boxing license in the state of California and took it a step further when, at the age of 52, he fought in and was victorious in his only ever professional match. "26 Years" is a heartbreaking but ultimately triumphant story of injustice and determination. There are times during the course of this brief documentary, which largely follows Bozella's training, when Dewey and other participants are clearly acting for the cameras and the "fly on the wall" effect is lost. However, it is hard to not get behind a story this appealing and inspirational.